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We use to have to wait for Thanksgiving to be over for at least twenty seconds for the Christmas commercials to hit with full force. It seems, according to these commercials, I should get the woman in my life a diamond something-or-another while she gets me a power tool. That certainly makes sense…in the bizarro universe!

Published - 11.22.2011 - Read more at The Huffington Post


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As I’m now over 23-years old, I have been deemed, “unemployable” by American companies. Drawing on my strengths and above-average IQ, I started seeking work overseas, hoping the shifting global economy would outsource to a new third world nation. I have found many differences in doing business with foreign nations. They modeled themselves from the American business model of the 1950s: work hard, be honest, uphold family values and workers are worth more then just the future ingredients in Soylent Green.

Published 10.24.2011 - Read more at The Huffington Post


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One of my designer spotlights on noupe.com. To quote the subject, Peter Max:


Published 11.11.2011 - Read more at Noupe

Also read:





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Don’t Do TOO Good Of A Job!

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Maybe this is happened to you. You’ve really nailed a project. You skip out of the client’s with a big smile because you’ve done the best work you have ever done. Months down the line, you haven’t heard a thing from the client and your emails are either not returned or they have cool salutations and don’t answer your question of when there might be another project. Either you’ve screwed something up or you’ve done such a stellar job that you’ve angered someone who hands out the freelance work. Believe it or not, it may be the latter. It’s not so odd… believe it or not!

Published 8.9.2011 - Read more at Instantshift


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Buy The Numbers...

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One of the things my clients enjoy is the numbers of reposts, tweets and Google returns my articles receive. Numbers are important in social media. The more people who see your message, the more hits, click-thrus and reposts means the most bang for your buck.

Buy my service as a writer for your publication, blog or ad and you get the numbers your want. You just don't buy the writing... you buy the numbers!


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Does This Mean I'm A "GOOD" Boy?

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Living With Words

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A recent assignment was to write an introduction for a housing development just outside Toronto. It was a unique job as it didn't involve the usual humor for which I'm known. It called for a poetic synergy that would entice home buyers and drive interest from the web site to actual site visits. However, as the client had a sense of humor, I couldn't resist adding one last intro just for fun. I was told the boss "laughed his head off."

He also liked the serious stuff.


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I reconnected with a former art school teacher the other day. I’ve tried to keep in touch with all of my old teachers, at least the ones still living.

They were my mentors, and they cared about teaching students to enter the field as professionals and to succeed.

He was at the top of the field then, an art director for a hugely famous magazine, and I took his class so that I could get closer to him as a connection and possible employer.

He was creative, kind and caring. At the end of the semester, he signed a magazine for me, “It’s been a real pleasure having you in my class and watching you totally miss the message.”

I laughed at the time and thought it was a joke. But he was serious and he was right. When I connected with him recently, I reminded him of what he wrote and thanked him for trying to give me a swift kick to wake me up.

“It didn’t sink in for many years,” I wrote, “but when it did, I realized the lesson you were trying to teach me, and it’s one of the reasons I have had a successful career.”

Published 8.3.2011 - Read more at Webdesignerdepot


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Driving Sales With Humor

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One of my favorite writing projects is humorous openings for sales pitches. These were for a car dealership. With all the exciting content of oil changes and tire pressure, a bit of humor sets the readers up for content that is less than instructional and informative... it's just not miles of laughs.


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Perry Hotter And The Reclusive Raventoe

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The draft for book eight in the magical series...
Chapter three
No one noticed him. He sat in the back row of classes. He sat, as he did now, at an empty table in the dining hall, his back to all others, picking at his toad gruel with raven infused sausages, contemplating how much he hated pumpkin juice and craved a cold mudgle, chocolate Yoo-Hoo.

What perhaps helped him stay out of the sight and minds of others was merely being part of the Raventoe house. No Raventoe had ever made anything out of themselves. They were the C-D+ students at Hogguts. Head Wizard's Room attendant was about as high a position any Raventoe could dream of. They were the "short boat" kids of the school. His uncle at least had his own wizard rock band but with songs limited to such hits as "Troll, troll, troll, ya gotta rock and roll, roll, roll," "Sometimes I know why the hypogriff cries," "He's a wanker little elf who plays with himself" and the always snappy, "He who can not be named, all the hot witches want your love to be tamed," he could never hope to break the magical barrier and play in the mudgle world. Between his job of loading luggage at the wizarding airport and playing for tips at the Leaky Cauldron every second Saturday, the huge and successful gig at the Malfoy barmitzvah and the Tri-Wizard Ball, he managed to squeak by and still pay for Dish TV so he wouldn't go insane with the boring shows on Wizard Cable.


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Biking, Blogging and Bacon

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A new social media client is a small but innovative bicycle company in my home town of Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn Cruiser has a line of bikes based on Urban Bikes, also known as City Bikes or the European name, the Dutch Bike. It's some fun subjects I get to write about but, most recently, I got the chance to work Kevin Bacon into a post!

Here's a few more posts of mine. If you like biking, then they are a "must read." If you like humor and bike riding, then... they are really a "must read!"

Brooklyn Cruiser officially launches in late July and blog posts will increase but here's the first few, just to "peddle" the blog to you!

http://www.brooklyncruiser.com/blog/


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Business is buzzing about this “new” social media. It’s sweeping the world and every firm has to have it but few understand where it came from and how it actually works. There’s infighting in large corporations for which department will own the social media outreach and people are hanging placards on their profiles that tout themselves as “social media experts," but their tweets are more like twits and the practice has yet to be defined in terms of how it’s effective and how it can be gauged as successful. The answer is to ask the creatives who have been doing it for many years.

Published 6.24.2011 - Read more at Onextrapixel


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Are All Male Politicians Potential “Weiners?”

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With all the Weiner stories flying, I was asked to write a commentary for askmen.com about how politicians shouldn't be allowed to have access to social media. Unfortunately, with the changing and emerging information and evidence every hour, my commentary got bumped off the front page for the "erotic texts" he sent to an unfortunate young supporter.

That's the news business! But in the blog business, there's always room for stories that end up being cut, so here it is...


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A young digital Illustrator e-mailed me after seeing a post of mine on a business networking site. He asked, “After reading your profile, I would love to hear anything else you have to offer regarding the inside of the industry!”

I wrote back, “Yikes! That would take ten minutes, at least. Not much I can say without breaking non-disclosures with my clients. What did you have in mind?”

He replied back, “Well, being on the other side of the table as an Art Director, what did you look for in freelance creatives? Anything you can impart would be appreciated. Thanks!”

I thought about the answer. What really got me interested in using new talent?

Published 5.31.2011 - Read more at Freelanceswitch


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I’ve traveled to many art schools, being asked to review senior student portfolios and speak on professional practices in the design business and the one thing I always notice is the lack of direction in student portfolios. Even with professionals, there is often no idea what or even how to present work to a client. Without senior level courses on portfolio preparation or classes taught by those who have been out of the field too long to know current trends, it is confusing and students are left with their own thoughts on what a client wants to see.

Published 5.4.2011 - Read more at Instantshift


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I usually just post my own articles but here's one that was written ABOUT me! In reaction to one of my tweets, Romanian web designer with global clients, Radu Chelariu (aka SICKDESIGNER), wrote a nice and thoughtful piece which garnered quite a reaction.

Read more HERE!


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One piece of business communication that hasn’t changed in a thousand years is the résumé. It’s the first contact you have with a prospective employer and your chance to sell yourself in 20 seconds. With such pressure, most people make huge mistakes with their résumé. Seasoned professionals struggle with issues such as the chronological vs. the functional, editing to keep a long career under two pages and how to truthfully show one’s life without broadcasting they are older, heavily experienced and most probably highly paid.

Published 4.20.2011 - Read more at Instantshift


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Judging from shows like Survivor and Lost, life on an island is not a party to be envied. One could never tell from the happy-go-lucky castaways on Gilligan’s Island. Even spending years in the tropics, wearing the same clothes, and, as disgusting as the thought may be, the same underwear, things seemed a bit too everyday normal on the small, uncharted tropic isle.


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I LOVED my art school! I would not be where I am without it. I still keep in touch with my teachers…well, the ones who are still alive.

When I applied to go there, I had to present a portfolio, have an interview, have a second interview and generally, for many of the classes I enrolled for, had to meet with the teacher and present my portfolio in yet another interview. Although I had transferred in from another school, in an unrelated field, many of my credits were not accepted and I had to take a foundation year of a well-rounded assortment of those little things creatives need; painting, life drawing, color theory, design 101, sculpture and print production. It seemed silly at the time but I now realize the foundation is what made me a better creative.


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It’s easy to figure out you’ve been fired from a staff position. Either your boss or a human resources person has told you to your face, you are met at your desk and walked out, or security guards drag you out, one on each arm and leg. The hints are fairly obvious. When you freelance, it takes time to realize you have been fired and will no longer be working for that client. More often than not, there are no signs. Weeks turn into months and months turn into a year. Depending on how often you do work for that client, the realization that something is wrong can come quickly. Makes me yearn for the good ol’ method of the security guards on each limb!


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